I spent a little time pondering what it is I was going to do with myself this summer, in my newly single state and...well... thanks to this lovely article on Atlas Obscura, I was inspired to make my plans. I went on to http://www.amazon.com and purchased my very own travel guide:

Been reading through it at home and am slowly going to follow its directions and highlights. I've learned that MANY of the places mentioned no longer exist, whether torn down or overtaken by NYU or Bloomingdales.

I started my journey today, downtown, of course, being as the kind of traveler that would be reading this book would arrive by boat. I chose to visit two places today that still exist now as then: Trinity Church and St. Paul's Church. My plan was to go to the places and see the things highlighted in the guide:

The tour is free and starts at 2pm. Really knowledgeable fun lady took a group of us around and showed us a lot of the architecture and gravesites and history. It is a really fun tour for anyone interested. Anyway, I rarely take pictures inside religious buildings because they are sacred, but I did get one of the marble altar piece and stained glass window, by the Astors and RM Upjohn respectively.

I also got to see the "grave" of Charlotte Temple. I had just finished reading the book of the same name, so was curious to see a fictional character's tombstone. Apparently, Sherlock Holmes also a tombstone-- but he's a bit more well-known.

I also saw Hamilton's grave (again). I did not take any pictures of it, because, as of this writing, the show is such a hot ticket right now that if one wishes to see it, one has to go and do it himself (This may not make sense, but it is a joke about the popularity of the musical).

Anyway, afterwards I headed up to St. Paul's Church, which is the oldest continuously operated building in NYC. It was quite a contrast from Trinity. Trinity had this awe-inspiring peaceful quality to it, while St. Paul's feels heavily like a tourist attraction. They still perform Christian and Jewish services there, although I'm not sure where, exactly, as they are displays and tourists everywhere. However, despite the icky taste in my mouth from being in such an inhospitable place (surprisingly and ironically), I did get to see the one thing I wanted to see: George Washington's Pew:

So there you have it, dear reader, my forays into Victorian New York City. This is only the beginning, and as time and weather permits, I shall be going to see more things of interest in this amazing city I live in.